III OSCE
| Author | Arie Bloed |
| Published date | 01 December 1997 |
| Date | 01 December 1997 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/092405199701500407 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Human Rights News
of civil society, including free and independent media, amounting to 5 MECU. The
programme has not been negotiated with the Belarus authorities but presented in general
tenus and as a coherent package.
III OSCE
Arie Bloed'
A. OSCE Presence in Albania
The OSCE paid considerable attention to the developments in Albania in the recent period.
This was the result
of
the major crisis in which the country found itself after the collapse
of the notorious pyramid-funds in spring this year. The international efforts to assist the
country in restoring law and order consisted
of
two elements.
. In the first place a multilateral military force under Italian guidance started operating
In the middle
of
April in order to assist the distribution
of
humanitarian relief goods. The
military force under the code name 'Alba' consisted
of
6,500 troops, coming from ten
cOuntries.
It was a 'coalition
of
the able and the willing', the mandate
of
which had been
endorsed by the UN Security Council. In June its mandate had been extended in order to
.provide proper protection to the international observers who monitored the elections on
29 June. In the beginning
of
August the troops were withdrawn after having successfully
Completed their task. The major impact
of
'Alba' was apparently the signal to the
Albanian population that the international community was serious in its offers to help the
country.
The second element
of
the international involvement in the Albanian crisis is the OSCE
'Presence in Albania'. This is the official name for the OSCE mission in Tirana which
helped the Albanian authorities in many ways, in particular, also in the field
of
the
organisation
of
national elections on 29 June. Although parts
of
the territory
of
Albania
Were
still controlled by armed gangs, the elections could take place, resulting in an
(expected) political earthquake. The Socialist Party booked a clear victory and got a
comfortable majority in parliament. The Albanian president Sali Berisha kept his promises
and resigned. The country is now governed by the former opposition which will have an
enormous task to bring back stability in the country where armed gangs are still active in
many places.
B, Presidential Elections in Croatia 'Free,
but
not
Fair'
The OSCE election observers were not fully satisfied with the way the presidential
elections in Croatia on 15 June were held. The elections resulted in a reelection
of
President Franjo Tudjman. Although the OSCE observer mission considered the elections
themselves to be 'free', the process leading to the elections was severely criticised. The
opponents
of
the sitting president Tudjman hardly had a chance to use the media to present
their programme. The OSCE observer mission, therefore, made several recommendations
to guarantee that in future television and radio time should be carefully balanced between
the major candidates.
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Professor at the Central European University and Director of the Constitutional and Legislative Policy
Institute, Budapes.
515
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